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For Sony, Struggle Is Still the Bottom Line

Company Set to Report Fourth Annual Loss in Five Years

By

Eric Pfanner and

Kana Inagaki

May 12, 2014 8:35 a.m. ET

TOKYO—Two years after Kazuo Hirai took over as chief executive of Sony Corp., it is slipping into a familiar pattern. After telling investors that a turnaround was near, the company is set Wednesday to report its fourth annual loss in five years. Mr. Hirai and other executives will forgo their bonuses, taking up to a 50% cut in annual pay.

Consumers have moved on to brands such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ratings firms have downgraded Sony's debt to junk status. And longtime Sony watchers fear Mr. Hirai is...